


This One Goes Out to the Sinner and the Cynical

by Silent__Observer



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Solo's Training, Ben is 16, Discussion of child neglect (mild), F/M, First time writer, Force Bond (Star Wars), No Underage Sex, Nothing is happening until Rey is at least 18, Protective Ben Solo, Sith Training (Star Wars), Slow Burn, Time Skips, We will definitely be skipping a lot of years!, i am my own beta, rey is 6, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:00:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28528125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silent__Observer/pseuds/Silent__Observer
Summary: He knew he shouldn’t. He tried to keep his gaze fixed forwards but he couldn’t help meeting her eyes as his lips quirked into a smile.“Hi,” she whispered.“Hello there,” he whispered back.She tipped her head slightly to one side as she assessed him like a wolf would. A teeny, tiny wolf.“I’m Ben. What’s your name?”“Rey.”~~~The Resistance failed. Vader is dead, Luke Skywalker is missing, and the Empire continues to expand throughout the galaxy unchecked.Ben Solo is determined to prove himself and work his way up through the ranks of the military despite his parents objections. He lands a cushy posting guarding the Emperor's right hand man, which seems to be mostly about keeping still and silent. He is there with Snoke when he goes to meet the Emperor's newly discovered granddaughter, a tiny scrap of a thing that he cannot take his eyes off.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 43
Kudos: 134





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I have been lurking on this site for probably over a decade (God, I feel old!), reading voraciously in one fandom or another. But always just reading, I have never written anything before. But this fic just popped into my head while I was trying to fall asleep and then I had 3 chapters written by morning. Unfortunately, they do not occur in this story consecutively and I'm not too clear how to link them yet! But we'll see how it goes.  
> Wish me luck trying to be something other than just a reader!
> 
> The first chapter is quite short but later ones are a lot longer.

Ben Solo was only 15 years old when he enlisted with the military. His parents had tried desperately to talk him out of it, frankly it was the most emotion he'd seen from his mother in a decade, but his mind was made up. He figured parents either got to tell you what to do all the time or trust you all the time, not only decide to give a shit when it would affect them. Besides, how could anyone say he had made the wrong decision now? Straight out of his training year and assigned to the personal guard of Chancellor Snoke, the Emperor's most trusted right-hand man.

Ok, right now that consisted of diligently watching a door that never opened and two windows that you'd struggle to squeeze a newborn baby through, but he wouldn't have such a lowly posting for long. His natural strength and the diligence with which he trained had been noticed at the academy and they would be noticed here.

Today was going to be his first chance to catch Snoke's attention. Snoke had been summoned to the Emperor's home on Coruscant and Ben was among the twenty guards accompanying him. He would not put a toe out of line. He'd even stayed up to rub oil into the black leather of his uniform so that when he was noticed he would look perfect. If he was lucky, there would be a security alert that would really give him a chance to show off. Not something that would truly endanger his leaders, that would be a childish thing to wish for and he is no longer a child. But a small emergency maybe. Someone else slacking off enough to give him a chance to step up.

~*~

If you had told Ben a few weeks ago that he would get the opportunity to be in the room while two of the most powerful people in the world talked, he would have thought nothing could be more exciting. Two hours into their meeting however an assassination attempt was starting to look like a nice way to break up the monotony. Hell, he’d settle for a servant in another room dropping something that sounded vaguely like a weapon. Anything to give him an excuse to move. His lower back was cramping from standing against the wall of the Emperor’s parlour this whole time. Some of his comrades had started to shift and lean against the wall, but he wouldn’t move a hair without cause.

“Where was she found in the end, sir?” Chancellor Snoke asked.

Apparently, the Emperor had been searching for someone for almost ten years. Who he wasn’t so sure about. Despite promising himself that he would absorb every word the men he admired spoke, the pain in his back had started to distract him a little while ago and he had missed a few things.

“Jakku. They sold her to some junk trader in order to refuel their ship 3 years ago,” the Emperor leaned over to press a button on the table next to him, “Bring her in!”

The door opened less than a minute later, and a servant entered ushering a small girl in ahead of her. Ben’s caged heart gave a painful throb at the sight of the girl. Not child should look like that. Rough spun clothes hung off a far too bony frame and her hair looked as though someone had scraped it into its three buns weeks ago and hadn’t touched it since. Her lips were chapped to the point of being cracked, the skin over her knuckles was split and scabbed, and her fingernails had a year’s worth of dirt caked under them. Was this little scrap really what the Emperor had been searching for?

“Come here, child, let us have a look at you.”

The Emperor clicked his fingers and Ben saw the servant give the girl a soft push to encourage her to walk forwards.

“Seems to take mostly after her mother, unfortunately, but she might get a few more of the Palpatine features as she grows up,” the Emperor grasped her chin to tilt her face into the light.

Snoke leant forwards to get a better look, “Under all that grime it’s hard to tell.”

“The trader was getting her to crawl through the small vents on the ships in the graveyard. Apparently, she had an uncanny ability to know where the still functioning parts were,” the Emperor said with a smirk.

“Hmm, and he had no idea what he had?”

“Not at all. Happy to let her go in exchange for an industrial humidifier to make himself more comfortable.”

“The density of these lesser species somehow continues to surprise me.”

“Indeed.”

The girl gnashed her teach and tugged her chin from the Emperor’s grip, clearly tired of being examined. Her front two teeth were missing. It was kind of cute. Although Ben was sure that wasn’t the expression she was aiming for.

The Emperor let out a sharp laugh and grasped her jaw again, “You’re fortunate I like a bit of spirit, runt. But you would do well to remember to only aim that temper at others. I won’t tolerate it twice!” He pushed her face away as quickly as he’d grabbed it and turned his attention back to Snoke, “We will need to summon the press team. Get them to write a statement. Something confirming the death of my son and how I have taken in my beloved orphaned granddaughter.”

The Emperor’s granddaughter. That’s who she was?

“Of course, your excellency. I have already sent a message to them”

“Good. Good.”

“They are dead then?”

“Not yet. But they will be soon. At least that worthless boy managed to produce one thing that isn’t a disappointment to me.”

“Yes, I feel as though she will be very useful to you.”

The girl had grown tired of the grownups conversation and had started to examine the room, something Ben could remember doing when he was young and his mother dragged him along to tea with her friends. To a kid from Jakku, a room as opulent as this one must seem as alien to her as the desert planet would be to him. Her eyes were wide as they ran over the carved walls and painted ceiling before they came to rest on him. With a quick glance at her grandfather to confirm he was still ignoring her, she stepped away from the old men and crossed the room towards him, coming to a stop at his feet and staring up at him as if transfixed. He knew he shouldn’t. He tried to keep his gaze fixed forwards but he couldn’t help meeting her eyes as his lips quirked into a smile.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“Hello there,” he whispered back, praying the men were too focused on their conversation to notice his lapse in judgement.

She tipped her head slightly to one side as she assessed him like a wolf would. A teeny, tiny wolf.

“I’m Ben. What’s your name?”

“Rey.”

“How old are you, Rey?” Even when he crouched down, she had to look up to meet his eyes. This close he could see a smattering of freckles across her nose underneath all the dirt. He wondered why no one had bathed her yet.

“Thixth,” she said with a pronounced lisp.

Well that explained the missing teeth. It seemed a cruel joke that humans lost their baby teeth at an age that was impossible to pronounce without those teeth. At least the loss was due to her age and not her level of neglect. With how tiny she was, he would have guessed she was much too young to have started losing her teeth naturally.

She reached out and touched her grubby fingers to his too big nose, his overly wide mouth, mapping over his moles like a connect the dots puzzle. He wondered if she felt the same way about her freckles as he did about his moles. Or had she even seen enough of her own reflection to develop an opinion about the way she looks? Really, the way she looked was completely exhausted. He hadn’t noticed before, but she was almost swaying on her feet and when she blinked she was slow to open her eyes again.

“You should go and sit down, Rey. You need to take a nap,” he said as he stood up to attention again. Fortunately, the Emperor and Snoke didn’t seem to have noticed him talking to her, although the other guards had been watching the interaction curiously.

“’kay.”

He had expected her to go over to the chaise under the window, or perhaps even to the empty chair next to her grandfather. What he never would have expected was that she would sit down right next to him, practically on top of his feet, and lean back against his legs. He had no idea why she would take to him. He’d never really spent time around kids before, so would have assumed he would be no good with them. Perhaps he looked like the trader who had taken her in? Nevertheless, it made continuing to stand at attention a hell of a lot easier as she drifted off. There could have been a grutchin symbiote crawling on his face and he wouldn’t have even blinked if he thought it might wake her. She looked adorable. Like a puppy that fell asleep in the middle of playing.

Another hour passed by in a flash, Ben barely paying any attention to the conversation of the men he so looked up to. Instead just focusing on not moving except to glance down to check that Rey was still sleeping every so often (or, though he wouldn’t admit it, every 30 seconds). It took the clicking of the Emperor’s fingers to snap Ben’s attention back to what was happening in the rest of the room. Fortunately, the clicking was directed at the servant who had brought Rey into the room.

“Get the girl scrubbed and looking presentable. I want a picture of her to go out with our statement to the press,” the Emperor said. “And send someone out for some clean clothes for her. Probably some gloves too. Those hands will take too much work.”

The servant bowed low before the Emperor and came over to collect Rey from Ben’s feet. Something within him roared as the woman picked her up and his hand tightened around his blaster without him telling it to. Of course he felt protective of her, the grandchild of the most important man in the galaxy, but he needed to get a hold of himself. The servants here would have been thoroughly vetted. Acting defensively when it wasn’t required would impress no one. So, he forced himself to simply watch as the woman cradled Rey against her and headed out of the room.

Just as she was about to leave, Rey’s eyes blinked open sleepily from over the woman’s shoulder and met his again. They were filled with tears. Hers, of course, not his. One small hand raised in farewell.

Ben was so focused on Rey’s retreating shape, resisting the urge to wave back at her, that he completely missed both the Emperor and Snoke watching him with satisfied smirks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookie Facts:  
> Grutchin Symbiotes - Grutchins are bioengineered weapons that resembled a half-meter long, black, winged, locust-like insect. They feature in several of the New Jedi Order novels. Grutchin Symbiotes are miniature versions used for assassinations. Basically if there was one on my face I would freak the f$%^ out!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is not the biggest fan of her new home. It is noisy, and cold, and has strange torture devices called 'baths'. The food is pretty good though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a quick little chapter to check in on Rey. I had thought I would be writing this whole things from Ben's POV. At least until Rey is a lot older. But apparently there was something she wanted to say!  
> It also gave me the bizarre experience of trying to speak as if I didn't have my front teeth to figure out how Rey would talk!

  
Rey did not like this place.

It was noisy. So noisy. All she could hear were other voices talking, whispering, shouting. It made Niima Outpost feel as quiet as the Badlands. And everyone looked at her. She was used to being invisible. Ignored. She liked it that way. Keep out of trouble Do as you’re told. _Wait for us._

And it was so cold here. Her wraps were good for keeping her from getting burned but with no hot sun, she was shaking like she was scared but she wasn’t. Not really. Despite herself, she snuggled closer to the lady who was carrying her. She was warm. Ben was warmer.

Ben was quiet too. Like a spot of shade on a blazing day.

She wanted to stay with Ben.

She felt herself being set down gently on a stool, the lady’s hand still supporting her back. Which was good. Sleepy.

“Think you can stay awake long enough to eat something, sweetie?”

“Food?”

“Yeah, your stomach sounds like a Rathtar. I assumed that meant you were a bit hungry.”

Always.

“Yeth pleathe.” It was always best to be polite when offered food. It was way too easy for it to be taken away again.

“Alright, what do you like?”

“I…food?”

The lady gave her a funny sort of smile that didn’t actually make her look any happier. She stepped away from Rey slowly, like she was checking that she was actually going to stay upright on the stool without help, going away to rattle in some cupboards. Rey swivelled around on the stool. Mostly to watch. A little so that she could lean back against the table. She was good at staying awake though. You didn’t always get to sleep just because you were sleepy on Jakku. She expected the lady to pull out some rations. Maybe in a big house like this they would have lot of rations and she could get a half portion all to herself! That would be good.

But it wasn’t a half portion. Or even a whole portion! Instead the lady set a tray down on the table with a bunch of things she didn’t recognise. Smelt good enough to make her mouth fill with water though. There were round brown things on a plate and two little bowls, one filled with something red and the other with something cream. The lady sat down next to her and started cutting the brown things in half.

“You’ll have to start a healthy meal plan tomorrow, but there’ nothing wrong with something sweet occasionally. I have a daughter, and these,” once all the brown things were cut in half, she then smeared them in the red and cream stuff, “are her absolute favourite.”

Rey desperately wanted to reach out and start stuffing food in her face. She sat on her hands to stop herself from grabbing one before she had been properly been given permission.

“You haf a daughter?”

“I do, her name is Kaydel. She’s probably just a little older than you.”

“Where ith thhe?”

“She’s at home.”

“Here?”

“No, she’s at my home. Here, try this.”

She handed Rey one half of the treat and Rey took a big bite. And then another big bite. And immediately grabbed another one to wolf down too. And another. They tasted even better than they smelled. Soft and sweet and light and amazing. She didn’t have the words for it. Nothing like rations.

The lady was laughing, but not unkindly, “Slow down sweetie, no one’s going to steal them. You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep eating like that!”

Rey swallowed a painfully huge bite and started at the lady in confusion. You can’t get sick from food. Sick from no food… Still she did as she said and slowed down slightly. She wanted to stay in this lady’s good books in case she had more delicious food stashed away somewhere.

“When will you thhe your daughter?”

“I’ll see her tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah I work here during the day for your grandfather, and then go home to my family at night.”

Wow…lucky. Not every mum could just go home to her daughter whenever she wanted.

“Grandfather? What that?”

“The Emperor. The man you met today. He is your grandfather. That’s your dad’s dad. That’s why you’re here in his lovely house. Nice and safe. He was looking for you for a long time.”

The old man? He didn’t look like her dad. She didn’t think. His eyes were hard.

Once all the food was gone, with Rey licking every last trace of the amazing red and cream stuff, the lady gave her another warm smile, “Alright then, sweetie. We’ll give you a quick bath to get that grime off, and then you can have a nice long sleep. Sounds good?”

Rey wasn’t entirely clear what a bath was, but she nodded anyway. Sleep definitely sounded good. Very good. Fortunately, the lady picked her up again so she didn’t have to spend energy that she didn’t have walking. Plus, her tummy felt really tight and sore, which was weird. She kept her eyes wide open as they moved through the house, peering down every corridor they walked past.

“Where’th Ben?” she asked.

“Who?”

“Ben. Tall Ben.”

“The guard you were sat with? I’m not sure. I think he’s one of the Chancellor’s guards. He’ll be leaving whenever the Chancellor does.”

“Leafing?”

“Yeah, he doesn’t live here, I’m afraid.”

“Oh…”

“Aw did you like him?”

Rey nodded against her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, honey.”

That’s OK…she’s used to people leaving.

~*~

The bath was…traumatic. At first, the stream of clear water appearing at the turn of a tap had seemed like magic, filling the huge tub in just a few minutes. She wanted to drink as much as she could. Then the lady expected Rey to submerge herself in that water. Nope. No way. That seemed like a terrible idea. The most water she’d ever seen in one place was the bucketful she and the other younger girls got to clean themselves in once every few weeks, and she’d only ever dipped the rags in that, never her whole self. She tried to convince the lady to just let her sit on the edge and clean herself the way she was used to, but, apparently, she was far too dirty for that.

Clinging to the lady’s arm like a life rope, she was lowered into the water. It was terrifying. And…OK…kind of nice. As long as she didn’t let go. It was warm and it smelt good. It felt really nice on her sore tummy, and the cut on her foot she got last week. She was almost starting to relax when the lady started dunking water over her head as well, making her cough and splutter and nearly climb onto the lady’s shoulder in trying to get away. But after much wrestling, pleading, and promises of more sweet treats, she was finally convinced to sit still and grit and bear it while her skin was washed, her nails were scrubbed, and her hair was tugged at until it lay flat against her shoulders. The water no longer looked like something that would be safe to drink. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with this again for a few weeks. Possibly a worthwhile trade-off for more good food.

“Well that’s better! You look like a proper little lady now. We can see your pretty face!” the lady smiled and stroked her cheek.

Rey just harrumphed.

“You’ll get used to it all, trust me. I can hardly convince Kaydel to get out of the bath!”

“You make your daughter do thith!”

The lady laughed, “Oh she loves it!”

_Strange girl…_

The lady helped Rey climb out of the tub, very carefully as it was hard to keep her footing in this torture device, and then wrapped her in an amazingly fuzzy robe. She felt like a tiny Wookie. The bath had made her even more sleepy. She could barely keep her eyes open while her hair was brushed out and braided away from her face. It felt nice having someone else play with it. Almost familiar, but she always did it herself.

Once she was dressed in the softest top and leggings she had ever felt before, the lady lifted her onto what felt like a huge pile of cushions. It was the squishiest bunk ever. It was almost too squishy to get comfy. But she was also finally warm once she was tucked under several puffy blankets. And her eyes were closing despite her telling them not too.

“Alright sweet girl, you get some sleep OK. You’re safe and warm here. You can sleep as long as you like.”

Rey forced her eyes to open again to fix the lady with a serious stare, “Will you be here when I get up?”

“Most likely, but if not, I will be there almost immediately after. I promise. OK?”

Good enough she supposed.

“OK.”

The lady leaned in and weirdly put her lips on the top of Rey’s head for a few seconds and then switched all but one of the lights off.

“Goodnight, Rey.”

Rey lay back in her soft little nest, hugging one of the cushions to herself, her eyes now far too tired and heavy to open again for a long time. Just one little mumble escaping before she fell deeply asleep.

_“Ben.”_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey are reunited at Snoke's home on Centax-3 and have a chance to really talk and bond.

_Six months later_

Ben was absolutely fine.

He spent every minute that he wasn’t on duty training with the older guards and, quite frankly, they were getting a little too easy to defeat. Snoke had even looked in on their training a couple of times and his gaze had always been focused on Ben. He’d probably be getting a better posting any day now. Every night he collapsed into his bunk too exhausted to think.

Unfortunately, the time spent on duty wasn’t exactly mentally stimulating, and so it gave his brain time to wander. Inevitably, it wandered to little Rey.

It was strange, the protectiveness he felt towards that tiny girl who, frankly, didn’t need protecting anymore. She was safe now. He had barely exchanged two dozen words with her, but he couldn’t get her out of his head. Was she settling in ok? Had her adult teeth come through yet or was she still talking through a gap? She was used to a desert environment. Coruscant was fairly temperate but it would seem cold to her, was someone making sure she was kept warm? Had she started a school? Did she have friends? The Emperor would surely see to it that she never went without, but he was hardly the warm and cuddly sort.

Maybe this was normal. Maybe all neglected kids felt this protective over other neglected kids and he just hadn’t come across it before.

He shouldn’t waste his energy worrying, but there was just something about that girl. A piece in her that he…recognised. Lost. Alone. He wished there was a way to check on her without seeming weak. He had seen her picture on the newsfeeds just like the rest of the galaxy when they announced that she had been found, but there had been nothing since then.

Today held a little bit of hope for an update though. There was an important meeting today at the house and the Emperor’s ship was due to touch down at any minute. He hadn’t heard whether Rey would be on it or not, but it was a possibility. He was certainly dragged along to a lot of his mother’s meetings as a child. But even if she wasn’t there, the Emperor might at least update Snoke on her condition in Ben’s earshot.

The distinctive blast of a ship entering atmosphere cracked across the sky, causing every guard on duty to snap to attention. The other Chancellors and Generals who were attending the meeting had already arrived and were settled inside, but Snoke waited on the steps to greet his master. The Emperor’s distinctive Lambda-class T-4a shuttle came to a smooth stop on Chancellor Snoke’s private landing pad, his own ship having been removed for the occasion – a privilege that had not been given to any of the other visiting dignitaries. The T-4a was one of Ben’s favourite ships. He’d always wanted the chance to fly one.

As soon as the ramp lowered, four of the Emperor’s ever-present Imperial Guardsmen in their distinctive red robes and helms disembarked first, each with a hand resting on the vibrosword at their hip – a weapon that Ben had recently started training with. They stared over the assembled group of guards before one of them nodded up the ramp and the Emperor himself descended, closely followed by four more Guardsmen – these armed with force pikes.

But Ben’s attention was no longer on the impressive weapons they wielded, nor on the man that they all served.

Because just behind the Emperor was a much smaller figure.

Rey was here.

It was hard to get a good look at her yet, but straight away he could tell she looked healthier. And cleaner, in expensive clothes that actually fit her. She was slightly taller, which surprised him at first. He hadn’t thought about how quickly kids that age grow, especially once they’re actually receiving the right amount of food. And her hair was clean, shiny, and neat – still in triple buns, but ones that looked far too complex for her to have done herself. He couldn’t see her face as she was staring down at her feet, but that was probably just to avoid tripping on the hem of the long robes she was draped in.

Ben was so focused on Rey that he hadn’t even noticed that the Emperor had reached Snoke, who had bowed low to kiss his hand in respect.

“Welcome, your excellency. We are honoured to have you hear,” said Snoke.

“Is everyone here?” the Emperor said with a nod.

“Yes, everyone arrived precisely on time.”

“Good, good. Then we should get started right away. And someone will need to watch my granddaughter while we are in the meeting. Her nanny droid is in for repair.”

“Of course, your excellency.” Snoke nodded and fixed his attention on Ben. “You, Solo. Do not let Miss Palpatine out of your sight while she is here.”

Ben bowed before the two leaders. “Yes, sir.”

The Emperor clapped a hand on Rey’s shoulder. “Stay with the guard, granddaughter. I have business.”

Rey nodded and stayed where she was as Snoke led the Emperor into the house. A couple of the other guards shot Ben a sympathetic look at him being stuck babysitting as they filed back to resume their previous posts. Once the last of their backs had disappeared inside, he went straight to Rey and crouched down in front of her so she wouldn’t have to look up as much.

“Hi, Rey. Do you remember me?” He asked her gently.

“Ben!”

He barely managed to put his blaster down in time to catch her as she threw herself at him in a tight embrace, tiny arms wrapping around his neck in something more akin to a choke hold than a hug. Ben didn’t really do hugs, he never had, but how else could he respond but to hug her back. She probably hadn’t had many hugs either. It was completely unexpected, but actually quite nice. She felt very breakable, but her hold on him was strong.

“I guess you do then!”

She pulled back from him with a little giggle, spots of red high up on her cheeks as though she was embarrassed by her reaction. He had the chance to have a proper look at her now, and he was satisfied to see that she really did look as healthy as he first thought. Her eyes no longer looked sunken but bright and clear, and her cheeks had gained the fullness that you expect to see in a young girl. Her freckles now stood out much more clearly on a clean face too. Her lips were still a little chapped, but more like she had a bad habit of biting them rather than what had clearly been due to sever dehydration. She looked good. Like any normal, happy child that you could walk past on a Core World.

“You look good, kid. They been feeding you up?”

She gave him a huge grin now. Her adult teeth had come in. They looked slightly too big compared to the rest of her teeth. Like a little rabbit.

“So much! Ms Connix even sneaks me little extra treats to keep in my pocket later in case I get hungry.”

“I like the sound of this Ms Connix.”

“She’s really nice, I like her!”

“Well good. What do you think of Coruscant?”

Rey wrinkled her nose, “It’s so noisy all the time. Too many people. I kind of like watching all the ships go past though.”

He knew what she meant. He’d been to several highly populated planets but Coruscant was something else, everyone piled on top of each other like that. There was never any silence. He imagined it would feel extremely overwhelming compared to middle of nowhere Jakku. She’d probably never had to learn to tune out constant background noise.

“I know what you mean,” Ben smiled at her and stood back up again, “Let’s go for a little walk.”

Rey looked up at him and took hold of his hand as soon as he offered it to her.

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere a bit more comfortable. Do you trust me?”

“Of course!”

His heart swelled with how quickly she responded, how easily she trusted him. He’d never had that before. Even with his parents…it was like they were always waiting for him to snap. But this little kid who had been hurt so much. Sold by her own parents. She trusted him while barely knowing him. It was probably the height. He looked like a good defender.

Centax-3 was still pretty crowded compared to somewhere like Jakku, the larger islands filled with skyscapers, but Chancellor Snoke’s house was on its own smaller island. So, Ben led Rey around the back of the building, where there was a small copse of scraggly trees and an unobstructed view of nothing. Absolutely nothing but the blue ocean as far as you could see.

Rey let out a soft gasp and squeezed his hand tighter, “Wow…I didn’t know there was this much water in the whole galaxy!”

“Yep, they just keep it all on this one moon for convenience,” Ben teased.

“Really?”

“No, kid, I was just teasing. Sorry.”

“Oh…that would make sense, though. Jakku has none but what comes in on the tankers.”

Ben led her to sit on the widest rocky outcrop, “Well you can’t actually drink this water. Its filled with salt, so it actually dangerous and only makes you thirstier.”

“So, it’s like a gigantic bathtub? Ms Connix told me I shouldn’t drink the water from my bath. Only from the sink tap.”

He chuckled softly, “Sort of, I guess. Much colder though. So, are you all settled in yet? Have you started school?”

“School?”

“Yeah, or an academy or something? Somewhere you go to take lessons with other kids?”

She shook her head, “Nope. I have a droid that is teaching me stuff though. Making my reading and writing better. Although I could read already! But mostly other boring stuff like the name of planets in the Empire and eti…eti…”

“Etiquette?” he guessed.

“Yeah! Stupid. Who needs five forks to eat?! Do people on Coruscant not have hands?”

“Ah my mother put me through all that as well.”

“It’s boring. I liked exploring the ships! Not not eating if I didn’t find anything, but I liked seeing how all the parts of the ship worked. And I had my computer where I was learning different languages and flight sims. Much more useful.”

“Well maybe this is just the stuff you’re starting with? And you’ll move onto the more interesting stuff when you’re a bit older. Most kids aren’t as clever as you, learning all that at your age. Your droid probably doesn’t know how advanced you are.”

She preened slightly at his compliment, looking a little mollified. It’s a shame she wasn’t in a school though, getting the chance to make friends with some other kids. A chance to have a more normal childhood. He supposed he could understand why the Emperor hadn’t though. He was probably very protective of her, given everything she’d been through. Wanted her safe at home.

“So, other than boring lessons, are you happier living with your grandfather?”

“I…I guess so…” she was twisting her fingers together and chewing on her lip. Looks like he was right about her having that bad habit.

“You don’t sound sure. You can tell me the truth, you know, Rey. No one to hear but us and the ocean.”

“No… it’s ok… it is a lot better and I have enough to eat. It’s just… just…”

He rubbed his hand over her back soothingly, not wanting to speak until she’d managed to get it all out.

“My… my parents won’t know where I am! When they come back…” she sniffled, a few tears escaping from her eyes, “They’re going to come back for me and I won’t be there and they won’t know where I am and then they’ll leave again. They might never find me! I didn’t know I was going. I didn’t leave a message for them!”

_Oh kriff…she thought they were coming back…she didn’t know what they’d done…_

He picked her up onto his lap and hugged her close, hand rubbing her back, “Oh Rey, sweetheart, it’s ok. Maybe your grandfather left a message for them there?”

“No, he didn’t. He said that… that they’re never coming back. That they left me f-for g-good!” she buried her face into his chest, tears dripping onto his leather plate.

He wasn’t sure what the right thing to say was. If there even was a right thing. Should he tell her that the Emperor was right and that they weren’t coming back? It might not be the best thing to lead her on. But she was so young and so upset…what was the harm in a little bit of hope?

“Well he can’t know that, can he? He wasn’t there and you were. You’re going to know better than him what your parents meant to do, aren’t you?” she sniffled but he felt her slowly nod. “See. I’m right. Besides, who could leave you behind for good?”

“But… but then what will they do when they don’t find me?”

“They will never give up until they do. I know I wouldn’t,” he pressed a soft kiss to her hair, “But maybe we could do something to help them out. You worked for a trader, right?”

She nodded, “Unkar Plutt.”

“Well then how about I send a message to Unkar Plutt? Tell him where you are and ask him to pass a message on to them when they come looking.”

“Really?! I… I don’t know if he’d do it for free… everything’s a deal.”

“Well I have a little money. Might be enough to convince him.”

She grabbed him in a tight hug, her hands not even coming close to meeting at his back, “Thank you Ben! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, sweetheart. Is that all that’s bothering you? Are you ok now?”

“Yeah, I’m ok.”

“Good.”

She pulled away from his slightly, rubbing her wet eyes with her fists.

“I’m hungry.”

“No snacks stashed in your pockets from Ms Connix?”

“Um, I ate it on the shuttle.”

“I see…well, if you can be super quiet and sneaky, I’m sure we can sneak into the kitchen without disturbing their meeting. Can you be sneaky?”

“Yeah I’m really quiet!”

“Alright, let’s do it.”

He stood up and placed Rey back on her feet, taking hold of her hand again. There was a sudden loud crack and a creaking sound from above. He looked up to see one of the larger scraggly trees tilting dangerously towards them.

“Ben…”

“It’s alright, Rey.”

He bent down and scooped her into his arms so he could move faster, but with another sudden crack the tree swayed and started to fall, aiming right for them.

“Ben!!”

He curled his body protectively around her, throwing up one hand above him on instinct despite knowing there’s no way he could hold up a tree that big.

_Kriff just please let his body be enough to protect hers._

But the impact he was expecting never came. He glanced above him to see that the tree was suspended just a foot above his head, held there as if…as if by the Force…

~*~*~

Emperor Palpatine and Snoke stood at the rear window, looking out as Ben protected Rey with a strength he didn’t know he had.

“I can’t believe it worked so soon, your excellency. I thought they would need more time to trust their bond.” Snoke said.

“Yes…now we can begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookie Facts
> 
> • Vibroswords: A long, heavy weapon based on Echani weapon design. Generally wielded with two hands, although some beings are strong enough to wield them with one.  
> • Force pikes: A long pole with a vibro-edged head with a stun module that could knock a full-grown Wookie unconscious. At low settings, the spear could deliver excruciating electrical shocks. Higher settings could result in paralysis and death. Maximum settings could even slice through everything from flesh and bone to durasteel plating. The Imperial Guards used the force pike mainly ceremonially, but sometimes for other reasons – torture being one of them. Unrelated to The Force.  
> • Centax-3: Nicknamed “The Aunt”, it is the third of Coruscant’s four moons. It is an oceanic moon with rocky islands as its primary terrain. The headquarters of the Coalition for Progress, the Galactic Empire’s propaganda division, is located there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Emperor tasks Snoke with training Ben in the ways of the Force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, this chapter contains a description of a character almost drowning. Please tread carefully or skip if you are sensitive to this.

Rey’s fingers were still tangled tightly in the collar of his shirt. That was the first thing he became aware of again, the way that her knuckles had turned white because of how tight her grip was. The tree that should have crushed them, the tree that he had somehow managed to hold above them to keep her safe, was lying on the ground beside them. He didn’t remember that happening.

“Rey, are you ok? Are you hurt?” he asked, easing her away from his chest slightly so he could see her face.

She nodded, her eyes wide but unafraid, “I’m ok… you saved me! Saved us. You’re a hero!”

The way she was looking at him made his heart swell with pride. No one had ever called him a hero before.

“How did you do it?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Granddaughter!”

He looked up to see the Emperor and Snoke striding down towards them. He crouched down in order to set Rey back on her feet, having to slowly ease her fingers free one by one, expecting her to go to her grandfather. Instead, she stayed by his side, her eyes fixed on the tree.

The Emperor grasped Rey’s arms, “Are you well, child?”

“I’m fine. Nothing ever touched me. Ben saved me,” she said, looking up at Ben.

“Your excellency. Chancellor,” Ben bowed low, “I… I don’t know what happened. The tree just fell all of a sudden. It’s not even that windy…”

“It’s alright, Solo. You protected Miss Palpatine. That is what matters.” Snoke said, placing his hand on Ben’s shoulder.

He was grateful for Snoke’s supportive touch. He still felt shaken. Mostly because of how close he and Rey had come to being severely hurt, if not killed. But also…what was that? How did he make it stop? It shouldn’t be possible.

“Sir, I… the tree was falling and suddenly it… well, it just sort of…”

“We saw what happened,” Snoke said.

“I don’t _understand_ what happened? How it happened?”

“What do you know of the Force, young Solo?” the Emperor said, turning to face him fully.

“The Force?”

It couldn’t be the Force. Could it? No. Vader had been the last Force user, well, the last proper Force user. Skywalker didn’t really count. He was so new to it and he’d failed… anyway. He, Ben, had nothing to do with the Force.

“It’s an ancient…power, I suppose? The Jedi used it. And Vader.”

The Emperor and Snoke glanced at each other. Rey looked as though she was barely suppressing a laugh. He supposed it wasn’t the best description anyone had ever given. Probably not the worst either.

“It is not an ancient power. It is ageless,” the Emperor said, “and certain… special people, have a propensity that allows them to tap into the Force and bend It to their will. Yes, the Jedi used it, but not well. They were slaves to it, rather than masters of it. Vader was a master of it, until he let weakness overwhelm him.”

“And… and I’m…”

“You, dear son, have the propensity to be a powerful Force user.”

It didn’t make sense. He’d never done anything like this before… right? Surely he would remember that.

“But I don’t think it’s ever happened before?”

“It usually presents for the first time in times of strong emotion,” Snoke said. “Children will often throw their toys around a room when they are upset, but if it’s not nurtured, they can grow out of it, in the same way children grow out of throwing a tantrum. They suppress it. Then, when you were scared for Miss Palpatine’s life, it came out again in order to save you both.”

Ben stared down at his hands, “I don’t remember anything like that. Surely, my parents…”

“Well, if parents aren’t paying a lot of attention, it would be easy to miss,” Snoke said.

_Figures._

“So, Ben’s a Jedi?” Rey asked.

“No, no, of course not. The Jedi are long gone. But, with training, he could become a powerful Force user,” the Emperor said.

“If the Jedi are gone though, who’s going to train him?” Rey looked more confused than ever.

“Chancellor Snoke shall teach him. He is also attuned with the Force. He will be a good master.”

Ben looked at Snoke in a new light. In all the months he had been working for him, he had never once seen him use the Force. Although, that probably was a sign that he had excellent control over it, as he had certainly seen his emotions high when disciplining one officer or another who had disappointed him.

“You can train me?” he asked.

“You are older than the norm for initial training, but yes, I can train you,” Snoke said. “We will begin tomorrow.”

Rey grinned at him, looking a lot more excited than he felt. Given that he had no idea how he had even used the Force at all, training with it seemed like an impossible task.

~*~*~

Three weeks later, Ben was passed out face down on his bunk, still fully dressed and with one boot half off. Training with the Force was the most exhausting thing he had ever done in his life. He wasn’t really a guard anymore. He pretty much did nothing but train and sleep. By the end of the day his brain felt as though it was made of butter and his muscles protested against even picking up a pencil.

Chancellor Snoke, or Master Snoke as he was now supposed to refer to him as, had started him off with telekinesis, claiming it was one of the most basic skills a Force-user needed – if also one of the most difficult to master given the many different ways that it could be used. Snoke taught him to tap into his emotions to strengthen his hold over the force; his anger, his fear, his jealousy, his sadness. And then Snoke would use his own control over the Force to hurl rocks of various sizes at Ben, who had to try and stop them with his mind.

At this point, there was very little unbruised skin left.

But he was getting better. Particularly when he tapped into his anger. Nine times out of ten he could stop the largest rocks before they hit him, though the smallest ones still slipped past him. It seemed to him that the smallest ones should be easier to stop, but apparently the mass of the item had very little to do with it. If you had the right emotion helping your grip on the Force you could stop anything. He wasn’t afraid of the pain of the smaller rocks, so they were harder for him to control. Which probably explained why nothing yet had felt so easy and instinctual as stopping that tree from harming Rey.

His alarm went off with the most obnoxious siren and he reached out without looking to find the off button. Instead he accidentally flung the alarm into the opposite wall where it promptly shattered into a dozen pieces. Which also solved the noise problem. Although now he’d have to get hold of a new alarm. At least it was another instinctive use of the force! So apparently his biggest emotional triggers were Rey being in danger and being woken up.

Snoke would probably want more than that.

He dragged himself out of his bunk and down to the communal ‘fresher, eyes still half closed. At least having to wake this early for training meant there wouldn’t be a line for the sanisteam. He had been way too worn out to clean the sweat off last night and his shirt actually felt crusty now. Being clean again was almost worth waking up for.

~*~

Master Snoke had set aside a large empty room for them to train in, the windows covered with red fabric to make sure no one could see what went on inside. But today there had been a message telling him not to wait there as usual, but instead to meet Snoke outside at the cliff edge. His Master was stood looking down at the hole in the rocky terrain where the tree had been ripped clean out of the ground. The winds could get pretty wild here, but it was still hard to believe that it could do something like that.

Snoke looked up as he felt Ben approach, “Solo, good. Come with me.”

The walked together around the edge of the island, watching the waves crash against the rocks with particular brutality today. Ben wasn’t exactly sure of the lesson yet, but he knew better than to press the matter at this point.

“Did you practice more last night?” Snoke asked.

_No._

“Yes, master.”

From the look Snoke gave him it was clear he knew the truth.

“Telekinesis is one of the most important weapons in a Force-user’s armoury. It is incredibly versatile, from combative to utilitarian. When you are strong with this ability, there are very few limits to what you can accomplish. Far beyond just moving a few rocks. Creating shockwaves, manipulating air currents, immobilising an enemy… these will all be in your repertoire one day. If you can learn…”

“I am trying, master.”

“Yes. You seem to have a hard time embracing your emotions like you need to. Why is that?”

“I’m not sure, master.”

Snoke gave him a hard stare.

“My parents… well, really my mother… she always got upset that I had a temper as a child. Thought it was important I learn to control it. Not allow myself to be led by mood swings.”

‘Got upset’ was a bit of an understatement. His mother had looked at him like he was one step away from strangling a puppy every time he’d lost his temper – especially when it was actually over something small.

“Hmm, it seems that rather than put the time in to help you properly, she just wanted a quick and easy solution. Misguided. There is nothing wrong with being led by emotions so long as you channel them into something useful. Would you have been able to stop that tree without being filled with fear of being hurt? Or fear of Miss Palpatine being hurt?”

“No, master, I couldn’t have.”

“Tell me, Solo, can you swim?”

“I, uh…” Ben blinked a few times in confusion, “no, I never got the opportunity to learn.”

“Good.”

A sudden gust of wind surged up and knocked Ben off his feet – and straight over the edge of the cliff and into the churning waters bellow. The icy water was like a shock to the system, making his heart race, tightening his chest as if it’s deliberately trying to squeeze the air out of his lungs. He could see the glint of sunlight above his head but no matter how much his arms and legs thrashed out he couldn’t break the surface. It almost impossible to fight against the waves pushing him towards the rocks, his clothes felt so heavy, dragging him down.

_Draw on your emotions, Solo…_

He whipped his head to one side. It sounded as though Snoke had whispered right in his ear. It was hard not to panic. His back crashed into one of the rocks, knocking the breath out of him and tearing at his clothes. His lungs soon began to burn with the need to take a breath in again. His legs were so heavy. His arms felt like they weren’t his own. It was so cold.

His emotions. He needed to focus but his brain felt so foggy, anything he tried to take hold of slipping away. Blood pounded behind his eyes. Turning black.

But then he thought of the promise he made to Rey. He hadn’t found the time yet to send a message to Jakku, to that trader Unkar Plutt. He knew nothing would ever come of the message, but that didn’t change the fact that he promised her that he would do it. He had to do it.

He let the waves push him back into the rock again as he drew up every remaining piece of his strength. He closed his eyes and pushed back against the water with all of his might, focusing on his anger and fear, on his promise to Rey.

The water was receding. It was slow. So slow. But he could feel it pulling away from him until finally his face was exposed to the air again. He had never appreciated being able to take a breath before. It seared his lungs as it went in, but it felt so good that he just lay back panting for a while. When he opened his eyes he saw that he had somehow managed for push the water back enough to form some kind of bubble of air with the Force that now surrounded him, giving him enough air to breathe and a respite from the relentless waves.

The voice of his master sounded in his ear again.

_There. That is better._

He felt his body being pulled up off the rock and he focused on keeping his bubble intact around him until he lay panting on the floor at Snoke’s feet.

“What did you… why did you… master?” he gasped.

“Well done, my apprentice. You finally did what I knew you could. Get changed into some dry clothes and meet me back in the training room.”

Snoke swept away from without another word as Ben pushed himself upright, his arms and legs shaking with exhaustion from trying to fight the waves. He wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through a full day of training now, he wanted nothing more than to crawl back to his bunk and pass out again. But still. His master’s words had lit a small, warm ball of pride in his chest. He did it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookie Facts:
> 
> • Ben’s Training: Ben’s training is, obviously, being influenced by Sith training methods rather than jedi. The Sith training methods changed a lot over the years (as sometimes it was in an academy and sometimes one on one – such as during the ‘Rule of Two’), but in general their students were held to a considerably higher standards than Jedi. They were taught to focus on their emotions rather than trying to rise above them. Training was intensive and, in an effort to weed out the weak, often lethal. Techniques were not spoon fed to them, they had to fight for every scrap of knowledge. If you would like to read more on Sith training, some of my favourite books are; ‘Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords’, ‘Darth Bane: Path of Destruction’, ‘Darth Bane: Rule of Two’, ‘Darth Plagueis’ & ‘The Force Unleashed’ (yes, like the game – the novelisation is awesome). Or of course, the ever helpful Wookieepedia has a good section on Sith Training.
> 
> • Force Bubble: What Ben creates while in the wave is a Force Orb – a bubble of air created from pure Force energy. Kit Fisto uses it during the Battle of Mon Calamari. He also uses one with Anakin during the Battle of Mon Cala to help Padme breathe underwater.


	5. Chapter 5

_1 year later_

From an outsider’s perspective, Rey’s life had only improved since the Emperor’s men had found her on Jakku. She had almost unlimited access to good food and clean, cool water. She slept in a warm and comfy bed at night. She didn’t have to spend long hours in the blazing hot sun trying to find parts to trade for rations. If she hurt herself, someone was there to clean and wrap up her room so that she didn’t spend days fighting off a fever. She didn’t have to defend herself against other scavengers who thought stealing from a kid was easier than finding parts for themselves.

And it was better. She knew that.

But this hadn’t been what she’d dreamed of. On those long nights when her belly ached with hunger because she hadn’t been able to find anything good that day, when she closed her eyes and thought of how things would be when it was all better… she hadn’t dreamed of living in the Imperial Palace with fancy food and lots of servants and droids who all either ignored her or called her ‘Miss Palpatine’. Partly because she hadn’t known things like this existed. But even if she had known, this wasn’t what she wanted.

All she had ever dreamed about was having her family back. The cold grandfather whom she rarely saw did not count. What he did with his days, she wasn’t too sure of. He didn’t exactly seem heavily involved in the running of the Empire. But he was always away in some other part of the Palace. When she did see him, he was grumpy and snappy and only ever called her ‘granddaughter’ or ‘child’ – never her name. He didn’t feel like how she imagined family being. She wanted her mum and dad. That was all she needed to be happy. She remembered flashes of their lives when they were all together, although they were hazy. Her mother brushing Rey’s hair and putting it into the three buns that she still always wore to make sure she’d be recognisable when they came back for her. Strong arms picking her up when she was half asleep to put her to bed. They still sometimes went to bed hungry, but they were happy. She’d rather be still struggling on Jakku with her parents than living here without them.

On Jakku, she had been so busy that she’d only really had the time to think about how much she missed her parents when she was alone at night. But now there wasn’t enough going on to keep her mind fully occupied, not even when she was supposed to be studying, and so they were on her mind all the time.

She wanted family. People who loved her, looked out for her, called her ‘sweetheart’ like she remembered – heck even just called her Rey. If it wasn’t for Ms Connix, and Ben on the rare occasions she got to see him, she could easily have forgotten her own name.

She was very grateful to have Ms Connix around, who always treated her kindly. Rey was used to being busy all the time, and she was totally fine with getting her hands dirty, but whenever she asked the staff if she could help out with that they were doing when she was bored, they never agreed. Frankly they seemed offended that she’d even asked. But not Ms Connix. She let Rey stand with her and help cook when she was done with her lessons for the day – something Rey was fast becoming a huge fan of, particularly when they were making sweet stuff. And she always knew when Rey was feeling particularly upset and would stay late to brush her hair and put her to bed to make her feel better. Her one day off a week was Rey’s most hated day of the week.

Other than the day without Ms Connix, there wasn’t a great deal of difference between her days. That morning, just like every other morning, Rey was sat at the table in an office that had been repurposed to be her school room, listening to a protocol droid droned on and on about something dull. It had started off with testing her etiquette but had probably moved on to something equally pointless. She hadn’t been listening for a while. The stupid things spoke hundreds of languages but never taught her any of that – even though she had tried to tell it that she already knew the basics of several. She had enjoyed teaching herself different languages. It wasn’t like she wasn’t willing to learn things. She just wanted to learn useful things. Then she would pay attention. Rather than just swinging her legs back and forth and counting down the minutes until it was over.

The one saving grace that stopped her brain melting was that she had access to a computer system. A much faster and newer one than the one in her walker that would run the flight simulations and let her study ship schematics again. Her grandfather didn’t like her being on it all the time and had told the servants to keep her off it. He said that the granddaughter of an Emperor didn’t need to know how ships worked. But she did manage to get on when she was supposed to be sleeping. Which was better than nothing.

She was thinking about what she might do tonight when she heard a ship land. The drone of ships was near constant on Coruscant, but Rey had gotten pretty good at distinguishing when one was landing on the courtyard landing field. She itched to go and see what kind of ship it was, try and guess which boring general or Moff was here to report to her grandfather today, but she could already hear the protocol droid complaining that “that is not correct behaviour, Miss Palpatine!”, so she forced herself to stay seated.

Over an hour later, her lesson finally over, she ran to the window the second the droid had left the room. A Xi-class light shuttle sat gleaming on the landing field. It must be someone important then. Those shuttles were brand new and so were still quite unusual. She’d had a look at the schematics as soon as they were released, and she’d love to get the chance to look around one properly. But if her grandfather didn’t like her looking at ships on her computer, she couldn’t even imagine his reaction to her asking to actually go crawling through the vents.

It could be worth asking just to see the look on his face.

He’d probably go purple with rage.

But then… he might take the food away.

Better to play it safe.

So, she admired the ship from the window for a little while, it’s clean lines and sharp angles, wondering what it might be like to fly. It was still new enough that it wasn’t on the flight simulator she used to practice on. But before too long her stomach started reminding her that it was lunch time, so she decided to go down to the kitchens. She was allowed, or technically supposed, to summon someone to bring her meals to her wherever she was, but she really didn’t like being waited on.

But when she reached the top of the staircase, a far better sight than food waited in the corridor below.

Or if not better, a _really_ close second.

“Ben!”

He looked up at the sound of his name and grinned at her as she charged down the stairs and leapt at him before actually reaching the bottom, trusting that he would catch her in time – which, of course, he always did. Despite the fact they had only seen each other a little over half a dozen times, Ben was by far her favourite person in the whole galaxy. She trusted him more than she had probably ever trusted anyone.

Ben spun her around quick enough to make her laugh and then squeezed her tightly, “Hey you. You seem to be in a good mood today.”

“I am now! Is that your shuttle outside?”

“Well technically it’s Snoke’s shuttle, but I arrived in it if that’s what you mean?”

“It’s so nice! I was looking at the schematics.”

“Oh yeah? So, in your expert opinion, am I in safe hands?”

“Definitely. The engine is top of the line. Only light shields though. Don’t get shot at.”

“Hmm good to know, I’ll try to be more careful in future. Not fly into any actual combat zones again. That was pretty hairy.”

Rey narrowed her eyes at him, “You’re teasing me again, right?”

“Right. Sorry.”

He didn’t look sorry. He seemed to enjoy messing with her. She didn’t think there had been a single time they’d spent together that he hadn’t teased her in some way. But she could forgive it because she had really missed him.

Ben finally set her back down on her feet after giving her one last squeeze, “Have you been working hard today?”

Rey groaned and gave him another glare.

“Ah, yes, I forgot. No making you talk about your lessons.”

“It’s bad enough sitting through them once. I’m not going to then talk about them too. ‘Sides, your lessons are far more interesting! I want to talk about that. Do something with the Force!”

“So demanding for such a small person,” Ben rolled his eyes, but there was still a smile on his lips as a sudden gust of wind surged from behind them, almost knocking Rey off her feet and making her giggle.

“That is so cool! I wish I could use the Force!” She reached out, pretending to try to use the Force to lift the crystalline sculpture in the alcove.

The sculpture slowly lifted a couple of inches off its pedestal, causing Rey to gasp with delight and whirl round to look at Ben. Only to see his own hand extended a little.

“You… Urgh! You’re so mean,” Rey pouted.

“Yep, I’m a monster. You shouldn’t put up with me,” he sent another gust of wind to ruffle her hair, “What would you do with the Force, anyway? Other than float food over to you so you didn’t have to get up to get seconds?”

“I hate that that’s exactly what I would do…”

~*~*~

Rey and Ben swung by the kitchens, where Ms Connix loaded them up sandwiches and fruit, before heading out to the arboretum. It was pretty neglected, the Emperor obviously not bothering to prioritise paying gardeners to keep it up, but it was Rey’s favourite part of the palace. She loved all the greenery and, really, the wildness only made that better. Plus, it was one of the few places she could get some peace and quiet. No one else seemed to like to spend time here.

They settled in the shade of a large tree that Ben seemed to particularly like, telling her it was called a Garren tree, and unpacked their lunch while Rey gave Ben a comprehensive update of what she had been doing on her flight simulators and how she was using what she knew of the ship schematics to do better.

He shook his head slightly as she finally paused to take a breath, “Man, my father would love you.”

Rey paused with her sandwich halfway to her mouth. Ben had never mentioned his family before, despite her hinting that she would like to know. Other people’s families fascinated her.

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“He loves ships even more than you do. Could and would talk about them all day. He’d be impressed by how much you know already.”

“I like the sound of your dad.”

“Mmm… hey, do you know what that is?” he gestured to a bulbous plant nearby.

“Huh? Oh, of course. Jakku is just full of plants so, obviously, I know them all.”

He nudged her hard enough that she almost fell sideways, “Brat.”

“I learnt from the best,” she nudged him back but he didn’t move at all. He was like a tree, “Anyway, what is it?”

“It’s called a lung plant. From Kashyyyk.”

“That’s where the wookies are from? I met a couple once.”

“That’s the one. Here, watch this.”

Ben picked up a long stick from the ground and tickled it slowly over the outside of the plant, which then rapidly swelled up in response. After another moment of tickling, it shrank back down again, releasing a huge gust of air as it did powerfully enough to knock the stick out of his hand.

Rey burst out laughing, “That’s amazing! How does it do that?”

“I thought you’d like that. I don’t know how it works though. Just that it does it to blow predators away, so it doesn’t get eaten.”

Rey had never really thought about what the different plants were and where they were from. She had kind of assumed they had just grown here naturally. But Ben pointed out other plants nearby that he knew were from several different planets throughout the galaxy; a koyo tree from Yavin IV, Arbran ferns, mattberry plants from Endor, a Ralltiirian liquid thoron tree.

“How come you know so much about plants?” Rey asked.

“We travelled around a lot when I was your age. Never really staying in one place long. So I’ve been to lots of different planets,” Ben finished skinning a meiloorun fruit with his knife and sliced it in half to give a piece to Rey, “I didn’t have a lot to do but explore.”

“You say that like exploring new planets is a bad thing!” she spoke around a mouthful of fruit.

He chuckled softly and wiped the bright pinky-orange juice off her chin, “It wasn’t so bad, I suppose… Just lonely.”

“We could go exploring together.”

“Maybe. Once you’re all grown up.”

She didn’t see why they couldn’t just go now. It’s not like she was needed around here. She probably wouldn’t even be missed. “Why wait?”

“Well I’ve got to finish up my training, right? Make sure I’m strong enough to keep you safe. And you’ve got to carry on with your flight sims so that you can fly us to all these exciting places.”

That was a fun fantasy. They could get an old but reliable ship and travel around the whole galaxy, going on adventures and seeing new places. She wanted to go to a planet that was covered in green. They’d help out people who needed rescuing. Maybe they’d even find her parents. Maybe they had been trying to get back to her but had gotten captured by some evil gang lord and she and Ben would come charging in and save them and they would be so proud.

Ben cleared his throat softly, interrupting her daydream, “Listen, kid… I hate to have to say this but, it might be a little while before we next get to see each other again.”

Her blood ran cold.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the Emperor needs Snoke to go and oversee operations on Ilum for a while. And, obviously, I’ll be going with him to continue my training.”

“What’s ‘a while’?”

He took a deep breath, “A few years.”

Her own breathing got more difficult, a band tightening around her chest. Like that time she’d broken her ribs after falling from the upper deck of a ship.

“No.”

“But we can write to each other regularly. And if I get any time off, I could try and come and visit.”

She was going to lose him too.

“No.”

“Rey, I don’t like it either, but unfortunately we don’t have a choice.”

“No! You can’t go! You won’t come back!”

The band around her chest snapped, flinging away from her at speed with an audible crack. The remnants of food that had been surrounding them had been thrown a good distance away, small branches had hit the nearby trees with such force that they’d actually shattered, and even Ben had had to catch himself on his hands to not be knocked flat on his back. There was a small cut on his cheek from where something must have hit him. The air felt like it was full of static like there was an incoming lightning storm. As she looked around, she noticed that the tree that they had been sat under now had a vertical crack running down the trunk.

“Rey? Rey, are you ok?” Ben was speaking softly, like the way you spoke to an animal that you were worried might suddenly charge you.

Her hands were trembling.

“I… I didn’t… I don’t…”

“It’s ok. It’s ok, it was the Force. You’re upset. Remember what Snoke said when my Force powers came out? That the Force usually comes out with strong emotion? You couldn’t help it. It’s ok.”

“I hurt you.”

“Barely. It’s just a scratch. Besides, you didn’t mean to, so it doesn’t matter,” he took hold of her hands to try to stop them shaking, “Rey, sweetheart, just breathe.”

“Please don’t go.”

_Please don’t leave me._

~*~*~

Once Rey’s breathing came easier, Ben got her to climb on his back and carried her down through the Palace. She felt exhausted. Like that burst of the Force had also taken all of her earlier energy with it. She could easily fall asleep right now with her chin on Ben’s shoulder. It was nice that with Ben being so tall he could carry her so easily. She was growing quickly now that she was eating enough, and so although Ms Connix would still pick her up occasionally, she didn’t carry and cuddle her like she could at first.

Ben’s long-legged strides took them along a lot faster than she could normally walk, and he carried her into the Emperor’s receiving room in what felt like no time at all - without even pausing to knock. Her grandfather and Snoke looked furious to have been interrupted until Ben stammered out than Rey was Force-sensitive, crouching down as he did so so that Rey could stand on her own two feet. Snoke claimed to have felt her little explosion but assumed it had come from Ben, and the Emperor also had a look of surprise on his face. Something about their surprise didn’t look particularly genuine to her… but maybe she was just being overly suspicious.

“An out of control reaction like that,” the Emperor said while Snoke nodded, “it is important that we start training her immediately.”

“With Ben?” Rey asked hopefully.

“Of course not. He is already far more advanced than you. Besides, they are needed on Ilum and you must stay here in the Palace. No. I will train you myself.”

So Ben was still leaving.

“You have the Force?” Ben asked, only just remembering to add, “Y-your excellency?”

“I do. I have not practiced with it since I was a young man, but I have enough knowledge of it to pass on to my young granddaughter. Get her started on the right path.”

Her hands were shaking again.

Ben, of course, noticed and held out his hand for her to grasp. It steadied her. “Sir– your excellency… Rey… she got upset after I told her I would be leaving for Ilum. That I wouldn’t be able to come and visit…” his brow was furrowed. She could tell he must have been thinking hard about what he was saying. “I think that, with what happened with her parents, she finds it very hard when people leave. I was wondering if we could arrange a specific date to visit, just so she knows what’s happening.”

The Emperor stared down at Rey in a way that made her made her shiver. She longed to find something to hide behind (Ben himself seeming like the most convenient choice) but forced herself to stand her ground and meet his bloodshot eyes.

“Very well. As long as you are focusing on your training and I think that you are improving, I think we can find the time for you to visit three or four times a standard.”

Rey smiled softly as Ben gave her hand a gentle squeeze, “Thank you grandfather.”

“I will expect excellent reports on your own training as well, Solo. I won’t have you wasting your time socialising if you’re not improving.”

“Yes, your excellency. I will make you proud.”

“Good. Now leave us. It seems we have more to discuss before you leave.”

Ben bowed low to the two old men (Rey did not bother) and tugged her back out of the room, picking her up again the second the doors had closed behind them. Which was good. As she felt like she was about to fall down.

“You ok, kid? You look dead on your feet.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, “’m so tired.”

“Well that was a big blast of the Force you used. I was tired all the time when I first started training. Maybe it’s normal if you use too much Force.”

At this point Rey wasn’t sure she cared why she was this tired. She just wanted to go to bed. She was vaguely aware he was walking somewhere but couldn’t bring herself to bother asking where.

“Thank you.”

Ben frowned at her, looking confused, “What for?”

“For making sure I still get to see you.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly being selfless. I’d have missed you too. You’ll just have to make sure you study hard so you can impress me with all the Force tricks you’ve learnt.”

Rey sighed heavily, “Having the Force is a lot less fun than I thought it would be. All I did was move some things and I ended up hurting you and falling asleep just after lunch.”

She felt his shoulders move as he chuckled, “It’ll get more fun once you know what you’re doing with it. And it shouldn’t tire you out so much. Ah, there you are.”

There was a soft gasp and Rey opened her eyes to see who Ben was talking to to see Ms Connix rushing over to her.

“Oh my goodness. Rey, sweetie, are you ok?”

“I’m fine, just tired. It’s Ben who’s bleeding.”

“I see that,” she rubbed her hand over Rey’s back, who closed her eyes again, “Do you need some Bacta?”

“Oh no I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt. I just wanted to make sure Rey was with you before I have to leave. She’s not going to be able to make her own way to bed at this rate.”

“What’s made her so exhausted, she was fine earlier?”

“Erm, I’m not sure, it seemed to hit her all of a sudden. She might be coming down with something.”

Ben was a terrible liar. But correcting him would involve energy she didn’t have. Their words were even sounding like they were from further away as she tried not to fall asleep.

“Poor little bug,” Rey felt Ms Connix’s hand against her forehead for a moment, “She doesn’t feel hot. Hopefully it’s something small and she’ll just sleep it off.”

“Hopefully. Look… I’m not going to be able to visit her for a little while. I’ll be away with Snoke. I just… Can you keep an extra close watch on her? I know you already look after her, it’s just, she was so upset when I told her.”

“I’m not surprised she’s upset. She’s pretty attached to you. I’ll watch out for her.”

“Thank you.”

“Ben… have you spoken with your parents recently because…”

Their voices faded away completely as Rey fell asleep against Ben’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookie Facts:
> 
> • The Imperial Palace was converted from the ruins of Jedi Temple into the Emperor’s primary residence, with him leaving the day-to-day governing to his advisers. It also housed the Emperor’s collection of dark side artefacts.  
> • The Xi-class light shuttle was a transport craft used by the First Order. It is the shuttle that Finn, Rose, and BB-8 use to escape the Supremacy.  
> • The Jedi Temple had an arboretum (Qui-Gon Jinn visits it as a Padawan in ‘Master & Apprentice’), and while it is never specifically mentioned as still being there in the Imperial Palace, I thought it would be a nice place for Rey to have to go to.  
> • Garren trees were found on the Core World of Chandrila – where Ben Solo was born. All the other plants that Ben knows are from planets known to be sympathetic to the Rebels.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you’re enjoying the story so far!  
> Comments are my absolute favourite form of encouragement - even just one word gets me eager to keep writing!


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